Who can give me the names of the best hd projectors under $2000?

toddrick

Answer
Depends on what you want to use it for. The best for home theatre would not be the best for business. It also depends what you mean by "hd". Assuming you mean high definition there are two levels available: 1280 x 720 pixels and 1920 x 1280 pixels.

The CHEAPEST of the 1920 x 1280 projectors lists for $4000

There are a number of excellent 1280 x 720 (or 788) projectors, including the latest LCD models from Panasonic and Sanyo (See first link for a comparative review), but both are a bit beyond your $2000 limit. The best 720p projector for the $$ is arguably the Mitsubishi 1000, currently selling for $1000 (See 2nd link for a review).

That said, have a look at current reviews and judge based on your needs / priorities. Any of the big names in projectors can be safely chosen, but you might be wise to pick a brand with a good local or reputable on-line dealer. Some brands to consider include Optoma, Mitsubishi, InFocus, Panasonic, Sanyo ...

Hope this helps.

how can i maximize my bulb life for my projector?

John D

How could i maximize bulb life for my porjector. recently it went out. it went out prematurely. is their any cause for this. not well ventalation, i also a air vent right above it that blows out air. hot air this season. and could that make that much of a difference on how long it lasts. its always on economy. also, would having the projector turned on and off more often cause the lamp to go out

Answer
1. You should move your projector away from the vent, first thing. The dust and particles that come from the vent can do some real damage to your projector.

2. Be sure not to unplug your projector or shut it down completely before the fan has run for several minutes and turned itself off.

3. If your projector has a filter, (newer projectors may not have filters, but most older models do) be sure to clean it regularly.

Lamp life specifications can be a little deceiving. If your projector manufacturer says the lamp is supposed to last 4000 hours, its actually specifying a half life. Your lamp may last longer than that, but it should not fail completely before that time. But either way, your lamp will be less bright at 2000 hours than it was when you first purchased it. And it will be less bright at 4000 than it was at 2000. Manufacturer lamp warranties are typically only good for the first 90 days of ownership, (though some are now as long as a year), but extended lamp warranties can often be purchased for under $100 and may be worth the investment.

Someone mentioned that most projectors have fans that keep running once the projector has been shut down, that is true as long as you leave the projector plugged in. Newer projectors (those released in the last year or so) will include a battery that will run the fan even after it is unplugged, but if your projector is older than that, you won't have that feature.


General Projector Care tips
http://www.projectorpeople.com/resources/projector-care.asp

Lamp Life specific tips
http://www.projectorpeople.com/resources/projector-lamp_life.asp

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What is the best home theater projector available for less than $6000?

drjay71

I would like the best picture quality available.

Answer
There are several projectors available in this ($0 - $6000.00) category. In fact as technology has improved, pictures have gotten better and cost has come down to where most folks can actually afford to enjoy LARGE Screen movies in their own home!

*There are 3 projector technologies that are currently in use in the home entertainment industry: LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), DLP (Digital Light Processing) and LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon.)

***LCD is the most mature of the three types in terms of age and number of units produced. It claims it's roots in the commercial and House of Worship (HoW) arena. Because of this, there are more "high brightness" LCD projectors than any other type. If you're theater is situated in a daylight room with little in the way of light control, LCD may be an excellent choice. Their picture quality has also improved over the years to the point where some brands are considered fairly stiff competition for some of the DLP and LCoS offerings. The best LCD projectors will most certainly look much better than their DLP or LCoS counterparts in this price range if the room's light can not be properly controlled.

Answer a) Ep son's Pro-Cinema series LCD projectors are a favorite in the daylight or medium lit room category and worth a serious LOOK!

**DLP is the technology that Texas Instruments (TI) developed to improve black levels and color accuracy. Over 6000 commercial DLP Cinemas were installed as of 2008 (currently searching for an update to this count) and they hold the lions share of all new Cinema installations world wide due to their VERY HIGH contrast ratio and resolution. The first company to partner with TI and offer a DLP Projector was the Kennesaw, GA manufacturer, ******Digital Projections Inc. (DPI) who is the ONLY projector manufacturer to ever win an EMMY Award for a projector (actually two Emmy's were awarded to DPI in 1998 for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering development.) By the way, DPI offered 18 new 3-D projectors at InfoCom 2010.

Pricing for DPI projectors starts nearer to the $9k mark than $6k but worth a look if you inherit your rich uncle's change purse. Outstanding picture quality! State of the Art. If you can afford it, DPI is the 800lb Gorilla in the room of DLP Projection!

Answer b) Digital Projection's DLP projectors - Worth a Really $erious LOOK if you can afford it!

*****Mitsubishi may be the best known and most sought after manufacturer of DLP TVs and projectors. They offer both front projection (on the ceiling) and rear projection (table top TVs.) Their table top line has recently become VERY, VERY popular due to their outstanding picture quality, *3-D capability (since 2007!) and size vs. price. If 82" is large enough for your Home Theater or Family Room (and that IS really pretty BIG!) then you should consider these products. No "DARK ROOM" needed.

Although some of them ARE wall mountable, they may be a little too deep for some folks taste. That being said, we've seen many of them mounted in built-in "cabinet nooks" and above fireplaces and their very thin bezel looks fantastic when installed this way. The Mitsubishi front projectors have been very highly reviewed in the trade and on-line review magazines and have fantastic pictures. These projectors and TVs will easily fit within your requested price cap with room to spare for all the add-ons you will probably need to finish off your new Man (or Woman)-Cave.

A word about 3-D: *3-D is really cool but if 3-Dimensional movies really are YOUR thing, make sure your TV or projection screen is plenty Big enough. Anything smaller than (approx) 72" diagonal is going to leave most of you wanting more. If you don't believe me, take a look at the closest Big Box Store that demonstrates 3-D. There's nothing worse than a 3-D animated graphic or effect that becomes 2-D at the edges because your "Field of View" is larger than the screen! YUK! You either need to scoot up really close (for 50"-65" sets) or be sure that the screen you purchase is taller than your *3-D glasses lens (field of view) so you can sit in your favorite chair 10-12 feet away.

Answer c) Mitsubishi Table Top DLP TVs - If 82" is big enough and you don't have to hang it on the wall, these TVs are outstanding in any light condition and the Price is Right. They have several 3-D models. They are worth a Serious LOOK!

Answer d) Mistubishi's front projectors (either series) are a great value for light controlled rooms with fantastic color pallet and contrast ratio. Better than most LCD given you have some sort of light control. Dark Room is BEST! Worth a LOOK!

You may want to consider the Optoma brand as well if front projection DLP is what you need. They have been coming on strong for the last couple of years and have proven to be incredibly competitive to Mitsubishi! Very quiet and easy to place in an odd shaped room with lens shift features.

Answer e) Optoma projectors - The higher end of the Op

If you display a projector at its max screen size, is the picture quality degraded?

morgan m

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?i=158VPLW60&tp=164&tab=features_and_specs



That projector claims a max screen size of 300", which is 25 feet. If I were to display it like that, and sit the appropriate distance away, would it still be a clear 1080i picture?

Answer
It will vary depending on several factors including whether the projector manufacturer chooses to use a realistic number or not. More often than not the maximum screen size typically specified by projector manufacturers will greatly compromise video image quality.

Using the standard zoom lens on Sonyâs mid-to-lower-midrange priced VPL-VW60 1080p projector requires the projector to be placed at a âthrow distanceâ ranging from a minimum of 369 inches (30 feet 9 inches) to a maximum of 631 inches (52 feet 7 inches) to produce a full 300-inch diagonal, 16:9 projected image. For example even if you choose the maximum projector zoom setting of approximately 1.7Ã in order to obtain the shortest throw distance of 369 inches (and thereby providing us a look at the best-case, highest illuminance scenario,) you will still end-up experiencing very poor off-axis viewing angles, i.e., a very small viewing sweet spot, as well as poor screenâand therefore imageâuniformity resulting from a necessity to use the highest-gain screens available. Alternately you can use a comparatively lower-gain 300-inch screen (e.g. under 1.3 to 1.4 thereby improving the screen uniformity and viewing angle a little,) and experience an unacceptably dim* (approx. 1 to 2 fL!), washed-out, low-contrast picture. Of course all of this assumes that you would setup, configure and operate the VPL-VW60 projector properly. So in a nutshell... yes picture quality would be noticeably âdegraded.â

You would also have to take into consideration your optimumâor roughly minimumâviewing distance, which will be approximately 40 feet, give or take, for 1080p video content displayed on a 300-inch screen. To put it quite simply Sonyâs maximum specified screen size is not realistic even if one were to push everything to the limit thereby greatly compromising picture fidelity and/or your viewing experience.

Even though the projection calculators can provide you with a reasonably accurate approximation there should be no doubt that Sonyâs VPL-VW60 projector will be grossly underpowered with any normal gain projection screen larger than 108 inches or so even in a very, very dark viewing environment using the best projection screens available.

*(Note: the target white screen illuminance for professional âdigital cinemaâ applications, as recommended by SMPTE 431-1, is 14 fL or 48 cd/m² = 48 nits ±7% as measured at the center of the screen and not less than 80% of the center value at the corners and sides. This specification also applies equally well for home theater applications.)

################## RESOURCES ##################

PJCalc!⢠Calculation Utility for Projector Throw Distance and Positioning
Sony Professional Downloads
http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/app-postproduction/resource.downloads

Projection Calculator Pro - Default Results for Sony VPL-VW60
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sony-VPL-VW60-projection-calculator-pro.htm

How to determine BEST screen size for home theatre projector viewing?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071121170743AAnVZ3T
(Contains several worthwhile projection calculator resources)

AVS Forum - Sony VPL-VW60 Tweakers Thread
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/printthread.php?t=926359&pp=60

Sony VPL-VW60 Home Theater Projector Review
http://www.projectorreviews.com/sony/vpl-vw60/

Sony VPL-VW60 SXRD Video Projector Review
http://guide.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&urlID=26282066&url=http://www.guidetohometheater.com/videoprojectors/208sonyvw60/index.html&showBibliography=Y

Sony VPL-VW60 BRAVIA® SXRD⢠1080P Home Cinema Front Projector
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&productId=8198552921665192796
 

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